A small, smattering of what brings me joy, peace and comfort....

I love the surprise of something in bloom wafting through my front door, only to discover it is the orange tree in full bloom in my neighbor's front yard. I love the sun as it shines through the leaves on the tree in the front yard and the pattern the shade creates on the porch. I love the watchful eye of my small dog as he observes me working around the house, hopefull that I will perch soon so that he might rest his chin upon my leg. I love the feeling of a freshly made bed when you crawl into it for the first time. I love long conversations with a friend who you can say anything to, or nothing at all and she still knows what you mean, or who finishes your thoughts even before you know what the rest of your thought is. I love believing that everyone is made perfect and whole just the way they are and wanting each person to believe that for themselves. I love the ritual of brewing a pot of tea, the loose leaf kind, in a china teapot with boiling water and then using sugar tongs and cubed sugar to sweeten it. I love boiled shrimp, hot or cold with drawn butter. I love picture frames, so much that I have 3 HUGE rubbermaid tubs full and that I have to fight with myself not to buy any more. I love new books, especially if they are on sale, books big, small, fiction, non-fiction, hardback, paperback, jacketed, unjacketed. I love new music, too, country, new, old, classic, rock, 80's, 40's, 70's, big band, classical, celtic, Christmas. I love seeing the hummingbirds at the feeder, especially when I didn't know they had found it yet. I love watching for my seeds to germinate and seeing the tender seedlings as they break the surface of the dirt in their little germinating houses. I love Fourbucks' peppermint mocha, too much. I love finding the right spot for hanging my framed art works. I love a big, open, empty white wall and all of it's possibilities - what to hang there in the open white space and what not to hang there. I love the handmade curio cabinet my Father made for me 13 years ago and dusting and cleaning the glass on it just as I'm getting ready to load it up with my prized possessions. I also, love that the curio cabinet has endured many moves with me and not one scratch, dent or ding has appeared in it's wood and the glass has never been broken - knock on wood. I love a Sunday afternoon nap, one that sneaks up on you as you lay in your bed reading and the drowsiness overtakes you. I love a new tube of Carmex lipbalm, just out of it's funny little box. I love a slow moving ceiling fan that gently moves the air around the room. I love that every azalea bush I drive by in my new neighborhood is in full bloom and the yards with azalea bushes look like rides at an amusement park. I love that no matter what is going on in my life, I am stuck wtih HOPE, she is always there, lurking, stalking, whispering, prodding, needling, reminding me that I cannot ditch her, no matter how many times I've tried to give up, she just won't allow it.

That is just a small, smattering of all that I love......all that brings me joy, peace and comfort.